Neck band

ABSTRACT

This is a length of ribbon textile, for example about 3 cms. wide which includes a mid-length neckband portion passing around the neck and having its end portions joined along their adjacent side margins to form a body section extending from the throat downwardly along the shirt front. The fabric is folded over on itself with the fold lines making angles of about 45* at the junction of the neckband with the body section, to dispose the loop in a horizontal plane. A slide fastener secured to the underside of the side margins permits opening or closing the upper end of the body section for putting on or taking off the article. The width of the neckband is preferably abruptly reduced adjacent the flat folds to about 2 cms. Woven, knitted or braided fabric ribbon may be used, although woven material having relatively taut weft threads and loose warp threads is preferred to minimize transverse stretch.

United States Patent [191 Lundin Dec. 18, 1973 NECK BAND [76] Inventor: Eva Lundin, Haggsjovik l2,

Ostersund, Sweden [22] Filed: Dec. 19, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 316,533

Att0rneyLawrence E. Laubscher I 5 7] ABSTRACT This is a length of ribbon textile, for example about 3 cms. wide which includes a mid-length neckband portion passing around the neck and having its end portions joined along their adjacent side margins to form a body section extending from the throat downwardly along the shirt front. The fabric is folded over on itself with the fold lines making angles of about 45 at the junction of the neckband with the body section, to dispose the loop in a horizontal plane. A slide fastener secured to the underside of the side margins permits [56] References Cited opening or closing the upper end of the body section UNITED STATES PATENTS for putting on or taking off the article. The width of 3,127,618 4/1964 Roach 2/150 the neckband is preferably abruptly reduced adjacent 2,152,417 3/l9 9 Natalie 2/148 the flat folds to about 2 cms. Woven, knitted or 2,157,618 5/1939 Marmsky 2/146 b id d f b i ibb n may be used, although woven FQRElGN PATENTS 0 APPLICATIONS material having relatively taut weft threads and loose 639,929 6/1936 Germany 2/146 warp threads is Preferred to minimize transverse stretch.

Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson 9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures f1 r L154) lLLL-IL"$ E:L "1L' augwgmmwmai L NECK BAND This invention relates to apparel to be worn about the neck in association with a garment having a collar portion, and more particularly concerns a ribbon-like article of loop form characterised in that end portions of the ribbon have their side margins connected to form a flat body section of vertically elongate aspect, the mid-length portion of the ribbon comprising an open neckband loop including ribbon portions flat-folded at 45 adjacent the flat body section disposing the loop in a horizontal plane.

The loop opening is made adjustable in that the side margins of the upper part of the flat body section are connected by slide fastener means of which the handling part is freely accessible at the throat and may be ornamental.

Heretofore various forms of neckcloths, cravats and neck bands have been devised as articles of dresswear to be fitted in the collar openings of apparent such as shirts and jackets, the neck tie being widely favoured. Such articles however are of relatively complex construction if their form and shaping is to remain acceptable, and demand considerable manual dexterity and skill to form the tie knot and to adjust the depending lengths of the end portions.

It has been proposed to simulate a neck tie by attaching ends of a neck-band loop as continuations of the upper end of the body portion'which has a vertical split extending through a simulated knot and along the neck tie centerline, the split being provided with a slide fastener to facilitate putting on or taking off-the tie as disclosed in US. Pat. No. 2,152,417 of Mar. 28, 1939 granted to 1. Natalie. Such construction does not permit the body portion to hang closely along the shirt front with the knot smoothly recessed in the inverted \l of the shirt collar wings because the neckband lies in a generally horizontal plane and its end portions are subjected to a sharp change of direction at their junction with the knot.

The present invention departs from the construction of known neckwear such as four-in-hand ties and bow ties, and instead utilizes the discovery that a ribbon textile article may be fabricated with an adjustable loop opening to gain the advantage of quick fitting or removal while presenting a flat vertically elongate body section the upper part of which intrinsically lies closely against the shirt front and forms an attractive ornamentation in the form of a V"notch registered on the inverted V opening between the wings of the shirt collar. No knotting or bunching of the material is necessary when the article is put on. Any further decoration that may be desired may be displayed to advantage at the throat, such as a stone or jewelry item, a pin, a puff, or the space may be left entirely clear for increased personal comfort.

It is a primary purpose of the invention to construct an article of neckwear from a wide range of ribbon textile materials, whether woven or knitted, that displays a truly flat body section requiring no backing, biasing or associated layer or wadding of material to prevent curling or sagging;

It is an ancillary purpose of the invention to simplify the fabrication of alternative neckwear articles that require no tying, from a single length of knitted or woven ribbon textile which displays a flat double-width vertical body section, surmounted by an ornamental Vjunction made by angular flat-folding of ends of a mid-length portion;

Still another purpose of the invention is to enable fabrication of a one-piece textile ribbon including a midlength neckband portion to produce a flat ribbon body section of double width which depends truly vertically and is integral with a neckband of which the end portions are flat-folded at about 45 so as to extend generally horizontally to either side of the flat section.

Other features and advantages will become more clearly apparent from a careful reading of the following description of preferred embodiments, by which the invention may be put into effect, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a ribbon of textile material preparatory to forming into the finished article;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view showing an assembled article with loop opening enlarged; and,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the article fitted under a shirt collar with the flat body section closed.

Referring to the drawing, a length of ribbon of woven, knitted or braided fabric construction includes end portions 1 l, 12 ofa length sufficient to form, when joined in side-by-side relation, a double-width body section, and includes also an integral mid-length neckband portion 13 which is preferably of reduced width, decreasing abruptly at the junction zones 14, 15 with respective end portions 11, 12. A loomed fabric is preferred whereof the warp threads such as those designated 16 are under a lesser tension than the weft threads such as 17 whereby the ribbon essentially appears to comprise only groups of warp threads and has selvage edges l8, 19, providing a ribbon that has some longitudinal resiliency but very little transverse stretch. The material should preferably, but not necessarily, have identical appearance on either side.

The reduction of width of the neckband portion 13 in loomed or braided fabrics may be effected by reduction in the number of warp threads as by tying off selected members of colour groups over a predetermined length, and may be modified to some degree by altering the compaction of the warp group as by changing the tension on weft threads. In knitted ribbon fabric the known modes of reducing the number of stitches may be employed.

Opposed side margins l8, 19 of the body section portions ll, 12 are resiliently joined as by stitching the fabric edges together while in edge-opposed flat relation to form the double-width flat body section 20, of which a lower terminal portion of the side margins may be left open for decoration.

As may best be seen from FIG. 2, a conventional slide fastener element 21 is affixed to the back of the upper part of the body section by stitching so that the hook edges overlie the selvage edges 18, 19, the position and spacing being so chosen that no gap or ridge appears a at the front side when the fastener is closed.

In order to orient the neckband loop to lie in a generally horizontal plane, the unjoined ribbon is folded over on itself and contiguous portions of each fold are joined (connected upon themselves) as by stitching (not shown) at the junction zones 14, 15, the crease lines 22 making angles of about with the length of the fabric, so that the neckband extends away from body sction 20 in generally horizontal directions. As viewed from the front, a notch 23 is formed between the crease lines having its apex downwardly, at the upper terminus of the slide fastener the angle at the apex will be about 90. While the folding might also be performed so that the ends of the neckband overlie the body section so as to be partly visible, it is preferred where a longitudinal strip pattern is displayed on the body section that the 5 folding be such as to conceal the neckband under the wings of a shirt collar.

A pull ring 24 which may have an ornamental binding of thread or like decoration is provided for operating the slide fastener.

In use, the opening bounded by the neckband 13 is I claim:

1. A neckwear article, comprising a. a unitary flexible fabric ribbon having a center portion and a pair of end portions, each of said end portions being folded in the same direction about a 45fold line in overlapping relation relative to said center portion, whereby said end portions are coplanar with, orthogonally arranged relative to, and at opposite ends of sid center portion;

b. means securing together the overlapping center and end portions, whereby said end portions have adjacent spaced parallel first edges and remote spaced parallel second edges, said center portion being foldable to a generally circular configuration to cause said second edges of said end portions to be in abutting relation and said 45 fold lines to define therebetween a V-notch having an angle of 90; and

c. means connecting together at least a portion of 35 said second edges, whereby when the center portion is arranged around the neck of the user, the end portions hang downwardly down the wearers chest and the 90 V-notch is adjacent the front portion of the wearers neck.

2. An article of neckwear as set forth in claim I 3. An article of neckwear as set forth in claim 2 wherein the ribbon comprises a woven textile ribbon fabric having warp threads woven under lesser tension than the weft threads.

4. An article of neckwear as set forth in claim 3 wherein the ribbon is folded to lie under the upper part of the said body section.

5. An article of neckwear as set forth in claim 2 wherein the ribbon fabric comprises an intermediate length portion of reduced width, the width reduction commencing at the junction of said body section with the intermediate ribbon loop portion.

6. An article of neckwear as set forth in claim 2 wherein the fabric is woven cloth.

7. An article of neckwear as set forth in claim 2 wherein the fabric is knitted cloth.

8. An article of neckwear as set forth in claim 2 wherein the fabric is flat braided strip cloth.

9. An article of neckwear comprising:

a. a single length of ribbon fabric;

b. said length comprising a pair of end portions and a mid-length portion intermediate said end portions;

0. each of said end portions being similarly folded over onto and secured to said mid-length portion to form respective fold lines extending at 45 between each said end portion and said mid-length portion to cause each said end portion to extend in the same direction generally normal to said mid-length portion;

d. said mid-length portion being deformed to a generally circular configuration with said end portions being aligned lengthwise in a side-by-side, generally co-planar relation, said aligned end portions having adjacent abutting side margins, said fold lines cooperating to form a V" notch with an included apical angle of approximately and e. means releasably fastening at least portions of the abutting side margins adjacent the V notch thereby to form a double width flat body section from said end portions and an adjustable neckband loop from said midlength portion, whereby the flat body section will extend vertically from a wearers neck while the neckband loop will extend at generally right angles from said flat body section when worn. 

1. A neckwear article, comprising a. a unitary flexible fabric ribbon having a center portion and a pair of end portions, each of said end portions being folded in the same direction about a 45*fold line in overlapping relation relative to said center portion, whereby said end portions are coplanar with, orthogonally arranged relative to, and at opposite ends of sid center portion; b. means securing together the overlapping center and end portions, whereby said end portions have adjacent spaced parallel first edges and remote spaced parallel second edges, said center portion being foldable to a generally circular configuration to cause said second edges of said end portions to be in abutting relation and said 45* fold lines to define therebetween a V-notch having an angle of 90*; and c. means connecting together at least a portion of said second edges, whereby when the center portion is arranged around the neck of the user, the end portions hang downwardly down the wearer''s chest and the 90* V-notch is adjacent the front portion of the wearer''s neck.
 2. An article of neckwear as set forth in claim 1 wherein the means joining the upper part of said side margins comprises a slide fastener and the apex of said ''''V'''' notch lies at the upper end of said fastener when closed.
 3. An article of neckwear as set forth in claim 2 wherein the ribbon comprises a woven textile ribbon fabric having warp threads woven under lesser tension than the weft threads.
 4. An article of neckwear as set forth in claim 3 wherein the ribbon is folded to lie under the upper part of the said body section.
 5. An article of neckwear as set forth in claim 2 wherein the ribbon fabric comprises an intermediate length portion of reduced width, the width reduction commencing at the junction of said body section with the intermediate ribbon loop portion.
 6. An article of neckwear as set forth in claim 2 wherein the fabric is woven cloth.
 7. An article of neckwear as set forth in claim 2 wherein the fabric is knitted cloth.
 8. An article of neckwear as set forth in claim 2 wherein the fabric is flat braided strip cloth.
 9. An article of neckwear comprising: a. a single length of ribbon fabric; b. said length comprising a pair of end portions and a mid-length portion intermediate said end portions; c. each of said end portions being similarly folded over onto and secured to said mid-length portion to form respective fold lines extending at 45* between each said end portion and said mid-length portion to cause each said end portion to extend in the same direction generally normal to said mid-length portion; d. said mid-length portion being deformed to a generally circular configuration with said end portions being aligned lengthwise in a side-by-side, generally co-planar relation, said aligned end portions having adjaceNt abutting side margins, said fold lines cooperating to form a ''''V'''' notch with an included apical angle of approximately 90*; and e. means releasably fastening at least portions of the abutting side margins adjacent the ''''V'''' notch thereby to form a double width flat body section from said end portions and an adjustable neckband loop from said midlength portion, whereby the flat body section will extend vertically from a wearer''s neck while the neckband loop will extend at generally right angles from said flat body section when worn. 